Introduction and management of insulin therapy to a patient with diabetes may be overwhelming to the patient and a burden to the provider due to the complexity of conventional methods and devices for doing so. Significant training of the patient may be necessary. The patient may need to learn, for example, various concepts and actions including hypoglycemia management, injections and the proper use of insulin administration devices, as well as the mechanical, electronic, and software aspects of using a blood glucose meter. In addition, the patient must learn to follow the doctor's instructions in starting and adjusting insulin dosages on a regular basis (e.g., per meal, daily, 2× weekly, or weekly basis).
Detailed instructions as to the prescribed blood glucose testing and insulin titration protocol are typically written out by the health care professional and checked off on a piece of paper. Patients often keep handwritten logs in order to comply.
It is not uncommon for a patient to have poor glycemic control even after getting onto insulin therapy. The care provider (i.e., physician) is then confronted with a challenging situation in trying to determine if the poor glycemic control is due to an inadequate frequency of glucose testing, incorrect processing of data for determining an insulin bolus amount, or a combination thereof.